I will be getting the video up as I can. In looking at the replay of what I have on the two cameras, I have some great stuff, but I also have about 5 hours of the same old, blah blah blah kind of stuff.
To those that are unfamiliar with this whole gig, I will start out by giving you some background.
Taken from Wikipedia:
Georges Bank is a large elevated area of the sea floor which separates the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean and is situated between Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA) and Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia (Canada).The origin of its name is obscure. The Velasco map in 1610 prepared for King James I of England used the name 'S. Georges Banck'; a common practice where the English patron saint St. George's name was sprinkled around the English colonized world. By the 1850s it was known as simply as Georges Bank. Contents
[hide]
1 Physical environment
2 Commercial fishing
3 See also
4 Notes
5 External links
[edit]Physical environment
Georges Bank is oval shaped and measures approximately 149 miles (240 kilometres) in length by 75 miles (120 kilometres) in width, making it larger in area than Massachusetts. Located 62 miles (100 kilometres) offshore, Georges Bank is part of the continental shelf and during the Wisconsin glaciation was actually part of the North American mainland. Georges Bank is now submerged, and its depths range from several metres to several dozen metres, placing almost the entire bank fully 330 feet (100 m) (or more) shallower than the Gulf of Maine to the north.
Georges Bank is the most westward of the great Atlantic fishing banks - those now submerged portions of the North American mainland which now comprise the continental shelf running from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to Georges.
Gulf of Maine shelf waters are the Bank's primary source. They enter the northern flank, move clockwise around the eastern end, and then westward along the southern flank, mostly emptying into the Mid-Atlantic Bight (the continental shelf ocean between Cape Hatteras and Georges Bank). [edit]Commercial fishing
Georges Bank, while not having the most productive fishery in the world (the Grand Banks takes this claim), has great prominence in that it is probably the most geographically accessible of all the fishing banks in the North Atlantic. Lying adjacent to New England's famous seaports, Georges Bank is single-handedly responsible for the development of coastal fisheries in towns such as Gloucester, Massachusetts and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
For over 400 years, Georges Bank supported lucrative fisheries for Atlantic cod and halibut. Over time, bottom trawlers became very efficient, some catching as much cod in an hour as traditional boats caught in a season. Bottom trawlers, however, damaged the sea floor coral and sponge habitats, and federal fisheries regulations aim to control this large scale overfishing to establish future sustainability.[1]
From 1976 to 1982, oil companies drilled ten exploratory wells in the US part of the Georges Bank.[2] None was successful, however, and both Canada and the United States have since imposed moratoriums on oil exploration and production on the Georges Bank, to ensure fisheries conservation.[3]
The decision by Canada and the United States to declare an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles (370 km) in the late 1970s led to overlapping EEZ claims on Georges Bank, and resulted in quickly deteriorating relations between fishers from both countries, who respectively asserted claim to the fishery resources. Both nations agreed in 1979 to refer the question of maritime boundary delimitation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Following five years of hearings and consultation, the IJC delivered its decision in 1984, which split the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Maine between both nations out to the 200 nautical miles limit, giving the bulk of Georges Bank to the United States. Canada's portion of the Gulf of Maine now includes the easternmost portion of Georges Bank.
So, that gives you a snap shot of the history of the Bank. Now to MY experience at the Bank. This trip was on the burner, simmering for well over 9 months. I am close friends with Captain Mike Marro and when the idea hit his brain last year, we ran with it to chart out the best time to go and catch some Giant Bluefin Tuna. Once the fishing window opened, the weather window closed. (As usual). So, we watched on a daily basis, evaluating bouy data and making the go/no go decision on a daily basis for the last month! FINALLY, the weather window showed an opening. We were no on! So, last Sunday, I made the trek to Clinton Ct to meet Mike at his house and then head to Cape Cod from there!
I left the house, kissed my wife and made my way on the first leg of the journey to the famed George's Bank. One of the top fishing grounds in the world that most will never get the opportunity to see.
We arrived at the marina in Stage Harbor as the boat was being loaded with 20 flats of menhaden, more ice than I have ever seen before, food, clothing, NEW Angler's Envy Chatham Specials, tackle, assorted gear and everything but the kitchen sink!
Before I get too deep in this, I want to take a moment to thank Capt Mike Marro, Tara and Capt Joe for welcoming me into their homes and businesses for the trip!
So, here is the first of many video's.
Background is set, rods are rigged and ready to go, bait is prepped properly, and the excitement is palpable.
Enloy!
OK, after working on this all day and having to purchase yet another piece of software, I was finally able to get the video into a format that would be acceptable for my iMovie editing program.
This is the first fish that we caught on Monday afternoon. I do not have footage of the final kill shot, but you will get a good idea of what we had going on there. I am a rather superstitious person and I really think the fish were camera shy so as these fights drew on, I shut them down and concentrated on the fish. Sorry, but we had to do what we had to do.
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